CSI newt

Last year Defra published guidance on using an Environmental DNA (eDNA) test of pond water for the presence of great crested newts. The guidance followed research led by the Freshwater Habitats Trust who developed and tested the technique.  This involves taking several water samples from a pond followed by laboratory testing for presence of great crested newt DNA, which should be present in the water when the newts are, or have recently been in the pond.

The Environment Minister at the time of the publication, Lord de Mauley, said;
 
“We want to remove unnecessary bureaucracy for developers while protecting the environment.  One of a number of complaints has been that concerns about the possible presence of creatures like great crested newts can hold up development.”

“This new technique has the potential to provide protection for great crested newts while saving time and money when trying to detect them.  This shows how new technology could benefit environmental conservation while also supporting growth by reducing costs for developers.”


Since the publication of this guidance the technique and its potential application to proposed development sites has been embraced by ecological consultants and there are now several laboratories offering their services facilitating the commercial use of the technique.

However, one major drawback of the technique with regards to development projects are the tight timescales involved. Sampling of eDNA can only start during what is traditionally regarded as the "peak season" for breeding great crested newts (mid-April to mid-May) and results can typically take 2 weeks to come back. As the technique can only provide an indication of presence or absence, not population size, then a positive result would require traditional surveys to be undertaken in order to gain the relevant population size class data. This data would be needed to assess the potential impact of the proposed development, which would inform the decision on the planning application, and then form the basis of an application for a Natural England development licence. Of the 6 traditional survey visits required, 3 of these would need to be during the "peak season" meaning that developers are left with two options; do these anyway whilst waiting for the eDNA results, in which case the eDNA results may become redundant if/when you detect presence by traditional means, as well as negating the potential cost savings. Alternatively the traditional surveys could be conducted, if required, the following year - in which case a positive eDNA result could result in a 12 month delay which would probably have an even greater cost implication to the developer than undertaking the traditional survey methods anyway.

So perhaps the real benefits of this new technique, from a development point of view, are for those projects which typically take several years to get to the planning stage anyway such as roads, pipelines and other large infrastructure schemes?

Newt detection - the traditional way

What the technique is well suited for is the regional or indeed nationwide survey of ponds for great crested newts. A nationwide data-set of GCN presence? - now that would be useful! So when we saw an advertisement by the Freshwater Habitats Trust for volunteer eDNA surveyors we seized the opportunity to try this new technique out for ourselves whilst 'doing our bit' for GCN conservation. Having now done the survey and sampling (which was relatively easy and made a change to be surveying during sociable hours!) we've sent our samples back to the Freshwater Habitats Trust and await the results which are due, with all of the other sites, later on in the year. We've even had a mention on their facebook page!